CITY OF WORCESTER

Rules and Legislative Affairs Committee Meeting

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Esther Howland (South) Chamber

Convened: 5:55 P.M.

Adjourned: 6:57 PM

Mayor
Joseph M. Petty

www.worcesterma.gov

 

Clerk of the City Council
David J. Rushford

Committee Members

Petition of Ronal Madnick, Director of the Worcester County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, request that the primary petitioner for any item before City Council be allowed to speak on his or her petition the day it first appears on a City Council agenda. We ask the City Manager request the City Solicitor to amend the Rules of City Council to allow a petitioner to speak on the day their petition first appears on the City Council agenda and request the City Council adopt a "public access" open forum which would take place in the first 30 minutes of any City Council meeting and allow anyone to speak on any item of business on the agenda regardless of the of its position on the agenda. Further, request the City Manager request the City Solicitor amend the Rules of City Council to allow a "Public Access" open forum within the City Council agenda for a trial period of ten consecutive meetings of the City Council. A person can only speak once, either when their petition first appears or during the public access period but not both.
# 8e CC October 19, 2010

In Committee April 11, 2011 - Held
In Committee August 9, 2011 - Held

Report of the Committee on Rules and Legislative Affairs upon the Petition of Ronal Madnick, Director of the Worcester County Chapter American Civil Liberties Union of Mass, request that the primary petitioner for any item before the city council be allowed to speak on his or her petition the day it appears on the agenda: recommend the adoption of the accompanying Order to request the City Manager to request the City Solicitor amend the Rules of City Council to allow a petitioner to speak the day their petition appears on the City Council Agenda.
# 4a CC June 15, 2010

In Committee April 11, 2011 - Held
In Committee August 9, 2011 - Held

Petition of Ronal Madnick, President of the Committee for Progressive Legislation, request the first 30 minutes of a city council meeting be set aside for anyone to speak on any item on the city council agenda when it first or later appears on the city council agenda for up to a total of five minutes.
# 7l CC February 28, 2012

Petition of Ronal Madnick, President of the Committee for Progressive Legislation, request to allow anyone who petitions the city council to speak on the petition when it first appears on the agenda for a period of up to five minutes.
# 7m CC February 28, 2012

Communication of David J. Rushford, City Clerk transmitting informational communication regarding public access forums.
# 10a CC February 28, 2012

Petition of Christopher Robarge of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts request City Council support the passage of state legislation to promote freedom of information, open government, and accessible public records, including measures to minimize the costs of accessing public records and improve the use of information technology to make government information publicly accessible.
# 9v CC March 13, 2012

Petition of Michael Benedetti request the archived city meeting videos be made available in a more easily accessible format that is shareable, downloadable and embeddable to support increased transparency and openness in government.
# 9t CC March 13, 2012

Petition of Joe Scully request the creation of a public records and data retention policy regarding the use of social media technology to support increased transparency and openness in government.
# 9u CC March 13, 2012

Petition of Jo Hart requests City Council hold a hearing concerning the existing formula process and protocol for the public to speak at City Council meeting or at Standing Committee of the City Council.
# 7m CC March 27, 2012

Petition of Jeremy Shulkin request the establishment of an ombudsman or point person to handle all requests by individuals or media outlets requesting information on any city department and that this employee's contact information be easily accessible on the city's website to support increased transparency and openness in government.
# 9w CC March 13, 2012